Big Elk Fire Evacuees Allowed To Return
Those Living In Big Elk Meadows Subdivision Can Go Home
POSTED: 2:05 p.m. MDT July 23, 2002
UPDATED: 3:30 p.m. MDT July 23, 2002
DENVER -- Residents were being allowed to return to their homes Tuesday near a 4,100-acre fire outside Rocky Mountain National Park.
The fire was 25 percent contained Monday night, 7NEWS reported. It is expected to be fully contained Saturday.
Residents of the Little Valley subdivision were allowed
to return home Tuesday morning and residents of the Big Elk Meadows
subdivision will be allowed to return home in the evening, said fire spokeswoman Debra Schofield.
Schofield said the Red Cross planned to set up a food station
near Big Elk to feed homeowners. Electricity in the area was out
and Xcel Energy could not guarantee it would be back by the
evening.
Higher humidity was helping the 749 firefighters keep the fire
from spreading. It was burning in mostly steep, inaccessible
terrain. That made it too dangerous to put ground crews in most
areas, and fire commanders were relying on water and retardant
drops from two air tankers and seven helicopters.
Firefighters had spread foam and cleared brush from around the
several hundred homes that had been evacuated in several
subdivisions. Though evacuation orders were being lifted, residents
were told to remain on alert.
U.S. Highway 36 was reopened to traffic, but authorities said it might
be closed briefly again to allow for removal of debris from an air
tanker that crashed Thursday, killing the two crew members.
Investigators, meanwhile, determined the fire was accidentally
started on July 17 by faulty catalytic converter on a Jeep that had pulled over to the side.
The U.S. attorney's office said that the driver of the vehicle won't face charges because an effort was made to put the fire out and it was reported in a timely fashion.
Only one unoccupied historic cabin in one of Colorado's original settlements -- Homestead Meadows -- was destroyed. This area is located at the end of the 3-mile Lion Gulch trail and is home to eight historical structures that were built between 1889 and 1923.
The fire is located about 9 miles southeast of Estes Park, a popular tourist attraction and gateway to the Rocky Mountain National Park.
The cost of fighting the fire so far is $1.95 million.
BIG ELK FIRE ![]() INTERACTIVE RESOURCES |
Other Fires Across Colorado
North of Steamboat Springs, crews made progress at the Hinman Fire after the area received one-fourth inch of rain Monday. The 1,446-acre blaze, started July 12 by lightning, was 80 percent contained and full containment was expected by Thursday. The Lost Lake and Green Creek fires south of Steamboat Springs were 5 percent contained, burning over 4,094 acres. About 300 residences were threatened, but there were no evacuations. Crews fully contained the 31,300-acre Burn Canyon Fire burning west of Norwood in the Uncompahgre National Forest on Monday night.
Previous Stories:
-
July 23, 2002: Ceremony To Remember Fallen Pilots Of Big Elk Fire
- July 22, 2002: Investigators Determine Cause Of Big Elk Fire
- July 21, 2002: Big Elk Fire #1 Firefighting Priority
- July 20, 2002: Big Elk Fire Expands Again
- July 19, 2002: Big Elk Fire Now 2,500 Acres And Growing
- July 19, 2002: 2 Killed When Air Tanker Fighting Big Elk Fire Crashes July 18, 2002: Wildfire Near Estes Park, Pinewood Springs Lays Down
- July 12, 2002: Forest Service Under Fire From Widow Of Airtanker Pilot
- June 18, 2002: Investigation Begins In Fatal Air Tanker Crash
- June 18, 2002: 3 Die In California Air Tanker Crash
- June 17, 2002: Air Tanker Crashes Fighting Sierra Wildfire
Copyright 2002 by TheDenverChannel.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.






